Matthew Macfadyen

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Succession: "HBO Bet Big and Won With Succession" GQ (November 2018)

Succession has been an undeniable hit for HBO. GQ has explored how this happened in a recent article. Be sure to read the full article to read the full interview with the rest of the cast.

Matthew Macfadyen (Tom Wambsgans): It was dark and acerbic. I didn’t know how to categorize it. I think it’s quite exciting when you don’t really know what it is. I thought at times, “It’s quite Greek.” It’s the great big perennial themes, and also it’s funny as fuck. And it’s ridiculous, and it’s heightened. But then, it’s not that heightened.

Macfadyen:I just waited until the first script came in and then gobbled it up and then started. Unless you need to learn to do something specifically, like fly a helicopter or learn the saxophone, the writing’s so good that it’s all there. [Tom is] half suave, half dickhead.

Macfadyen:We had a [wardrobe] fitting, and I suddenly put the turtleneck on, and it was like, “Of course.” ’Cause he would have picked it out very carefully for the family Thanksgiving. And we just thought, “Yeah.” I looked sort of like a demented mime artist who thinks he’s James Bond.

Macfadyen:We did a read-through of the pilot on the eve of Election Night. So we all went to this gathering at Adam McKay’s house after the read-through to kind of watch the returns.

Macfadyen:The party was, like…[makes sputtering noise]. But you think, “Anything that you put in the show, it’s kind of: Well, that’s fine now, because anything goes.”

About Nick Braun's "Cousin Greg:

Macfadyen: He’s the tallest man in the world. He’s like six feet six.

Macfadyen: I had terrible giggles. Really bad. We set each other off, almost every scene. I had to say “Did you bitch me out, pig-man?” right in his face. “Did you bitch me out?” That was really, really difficult. And the slightest twinkle…I’d see it, and I’d be gone.

Macfadyen: When we were shooting, we were like, “Will anybody care about these entitled fuckheads with more money than God? Their trials and tribulations, their jerking for power, who cares?” A part of me did think, “Well, maybe it’s the last thing people want.”

Macfadyen: When [Logan] was taken away from the hospital and they move back into their apartment, we went back to work. The bullying of Greg began. That was different.

Macfadyen: People are fascinated by wealth and power, but it’s family, I think, that’s the key thing. You go, “Oh God, that’s my idiot brother with delusions of grandeur” or “that’s my frightening sister” or “that’s my slightingly unnerving stepmother.” You can identify with all of them, regardless of whether they’re billionaires.